Taking Responsibility for Myself

When I adopt self-control as a core value I am taking responsibility for my life. I recognize that I have vulnerabilities that need to be defended and I am prepared to invest something in the process. This is not about the iron will, becoming so strong in myself that I can never be fooled into betraying myself. It is about the strong wall, about all the allusions in the Bible to God as "a strong tower", "a shelter", "a refuge", "a very present help in time of trouble", "a rock", etc. My relationship with God is my source of self-control.

Am I aware that there are forces in the world that are very intentionally seeking to destroy every bit of my self-control? Smart advertisers do not simply attempt to get us to purchase one product, they attempt to bring us into a mindset where we will not say no to anything. Billions of dollars are invested annually in assaulting our defenses and in ensuring that we will rarely say no to our wants and desires. AKMA recently drew my attention to a particularly illustrative example of this. You can find the whole post here. This illustration is taken from an advertising mailing for Forth & Towne, a Gap owned chain of women's clothing stores. Here are some excerpts from the mail out:

“It’s not just about the clothes. It’s about being inspired. It’s about being indulgent.”

“Develop a fetish for leisure time. . . .” “Show up with an entourage. . . .” “Commit random acts of indulgence. . . . It’s about treating yourself to an experience in shopping where you are the center of attention. Isn’t it about time?”

If we adopt this philosophy of life we will have no walls, we will run out of vocabulary for saying "no" to ourselves, we will be at the mercy of the will of others. Philosophy of life cannot be compartmentalized, this will not stop at shopping. This is not simply advertising, it is social engineering. Listening to God gives us a complete vocabulary that includes both affirmation and negation and that instructs us in the proper use of both. God is about peace, freedom, joy, love, and LIFE. The downside of failing to exercise self-control is that I will be subject to the control of others. How many of my daily choices are really my own and how many have been engineered by other powers seeking to exploit my vulnerabilities, my lack of walls?